A flat panel display includes picture elements, such as pixels or subpixels, that each can be addressed individually to produce an output, such as a color, a luminosity, or both. In an active-matrix-type display panel, each picture element is attached to a transistor and to a capacitor. As a result, each picture element may maintain its prior state, while other picture elements are being addressed.
In an example active-matrix display panel, the matrix of picture elements can be modeled as a matrix of digitally-controlled current sources, where digital control for each of the picture elements is included in video stream data. For example, the video stream data may indicate which of the picture elements should be illuminated in order to produce an output image. The display may be refreshed periodically in order to change the image on the display. During refresh, different picture elements may be turned-on or turned-off. When the refresh rate is high enough, the human eye perceives on-screen motion based on the images changing on the display.